Dream City: Metropolis has more than a passing resemblance to a certain game from Maxis/Electronic Arts. Yes, from the logo down to the mechanics, this game has a strong SimCity influence to it, as you’ll be the mayor of your own city, building it, making your people happy, and interacting with all sorts of characters in your three-dimensional world. You’ll also have to grow your industries, develop housing in your area as more citizens make their way to your city, and create civic buildings that provide services to help run your vast megalopolis. Indeed, it’s got SimCity written all over it, but there are a few twists here and there that separate it from its much longer-running, more popular counterpart.

Just like in SimCity, running your own dream city might not always be a dream. The legwork you have to do can be daunting, and if you make the wrong moves, with one wrong move often leading to others, it might be more like a “nightmare city” with all things considered. But we want to help you avoid such nightmares, as we’ve got a pretty cool Dream City: Metropolis strategy guide that covers as much ground as possible, and seeks to guide you on all the aspects of running your city.

1. Not All Buildings Need To Be Connected To Roads

Generally speaking, you want your buildings in Dream City to be connected to roads, so that people have a way to get there, so that business can continue on as usual. But there are some buildings in Dream City that don’t need to be connected to roads in order for them to operate properly; you should take note of those buildings and NOT create them in such a way that they’re connected to roads. These buildings include your City Hall, your Factories, and your Decorations, or decorative buildings/establishments.

2. Otherwise, You Should Really Pay Attention To Those Roads

When it comes to most of the buildings in the game, you should do more than just make sure they’re connected to roads. Ideally, only one side should be connected to roads, with the shorter side usually taking up this role if the building is a rectangular one. That allows you to optimize space in your city, and while it won’t be aesthetically pleasing in most cases, it will, at least, be effective and efficient, as the old buzzwords go.

3. Take It Easy On The House Building Requests

While it is important that you should follow the quests in Dream City, you should also go easy on house building requests. A lot of quests are based on house building anyway, so don’t add more to what you already have, and don’t get way too ahead of yourself. It won’t be a very economical thing to do, and you’ll be taking up way too much space while you haven’t unlocked your containers yet.

4. Complete Your Boardwalk Orderboard

Before you get started on your normal Business Orders per day, you’ll want to complete your Boardwalk Orderboard first. This board’s orders will pay you almost as many coins as your regular orders would, but the thing about this one is that Landmarks are the best way to draw more people into your town. This is just like it is in real life – people want to live next to popular landmarks or attractions. Furthermore, completing all the orders on the Boardwalk Orderboard will give you progressively more tickets as you complete more orders.

5. Save Inventory Space By Using Your Parts ASAP

You may have a large collection of bricks, tapes, saws, and other parts that are necessary in creating buildings. But since any item that cannot go into a filled-up inventory goes to waste, you should use those items as soon as possible. You don’t want anything to go to waste in Dream City, so save up on that inventory space and don’t hoard building parts or items!

6. Order Big Goods Packages Before Leaving The Game

In games like this, it’s always a good idea to be as productive as possible when you’re not playing the game, such as during the eight hours or so you’ll be sleeping. So before bedtime, or before heading somewhere where you know you won’t be playing the game, order the biggest Goods Package that you’ve got unlocked. That will give your factories enough fuel once you wake up or return to the game, ready to manage your city hands-on like you would want to.

7. Construct High Rises As Soon As You Unlock Them

At some point in the game, you’ll unlock the ability to construct High Rise buildings. Don’t waste much time – construct them as soon as you unlock them, and build as many as possible. That would help you save space as it unlocks extra storage slots. And in addition to this, larger, taller buildings are easier to move from one place to another if you’re redecorating.

8. Complete Points Of Interest ASAP

The game’s Points of Interests, such as your Lighthouse, for instance, need to be unlocked and completed as soon as possible. Just as their name suggests, these are places that pique people’s interest, and you want these structures to be up so you can attract more people to your bustling Dream City.

9. Quick Tips For Gathering More Gold And Goods

Every good Dream City worth its salt needs enough gold in reserve, and needs enough goods in order for buildings to be created and items to be crafted. So if you’re in need of additional gold, you can look for an unused factory in your city, and use it to create premium items which you can sell at a good price in the Marketplace. And if you’re deep into the action in Dream City, you’ll want to order smaller base goods and regularly collect them. That will add to your stash of base goods, and allow for more focused crafting as compared to your productivity while you’re waiting for higher base goods before doing this.

For now, these would be our tips and tricks for Dream City: Metropolis. Stay tuned, as we may update this guide, whenever we discover more hints. Also, if you happen to know any other tips or tricks for this game, feel free to let us know!